Recent content by compressor

My dad used to make home made wine and had three 5 gallon carboys laying around. I asked if I could have them and he said sure. I went to get them and they are in good shape but need some cleaning. Especially the one with the dead mouse in it. After a good...

Hmmmm... 20 hours and still nothing..... The recipe says without adding the extra corn sugar the OG should be 1.045. Now I'm wondering why my reading is so low after adding the sugar? Should I take another reading or let it be?

Ok. I won't panic. A few more questions though. My LHBS said I wouldn't need a starter. Would that have sped things up? The recipe says ferment 7-9 days at 55-75 degrees. Is that from the time I pitched or the time I start seeing activity? When should I rack to the secondary carboy...

Brewed a cream ale kit yesterday. I added 1 lb corn sugar at flame out to boost the alcohol content. I followed the recipe and pitched the liquid yeast @80 F right into the wort at 7:30 pm last night. OG was 1.042. The vial said give the yeast 5-15 hours to start fermenting but also said...

Well, brother-in-law came through with a "Harvest Gold" Fridgidare that will be able to hold two carboys for FREE! The top freezer will hold the frosty mugs. Of course, it will cost me some brew. He had it at 38 F at the 6 setting and it goes to 9 so I think it will work for lagering...

Thanks guys. A couple more questions though. Would I be better off using a freezer or a fridge to achieve proper temperatures for lager, etc.? Will a freezer maintain a temp of 45-50F with a controller? I'm going to stop by some thrift stores to see if I can find a cheap fridge or...

Can I just set the temp in a fridge to 45-50 F or will fridges not go that high? Will I need a temp controller? The reason being is that I purchased a cream ale kit from my LHBS. Still a noob and for my second batch I want to try steeping. I thought that since it's an ale I could just...

Yeah, I'm drinking another right now and it already tastes less bitter. The first six I tried were only six days old in the bottle. (I know, couldn't wait though and it was Super Bowl Sunday) Now nine days old and it's already mellowing. I need to get the next batch brewing because I can...

Googled for "home brew discussion". Wish I found ya' before my first batch.

Brewed a California Golden Ale from extract. Of course I couldn't wait to try it and popped a few bottles early. A little more bitter than I like but still tasty. After re-reading the directions I see it said to add less hops for a less bitter beer. Oh well. Getting ready to try a cream...